Then I was thinking. Don't slide. Just run up to the bag. The infielder throwing to second will have to throw around you. Can't call an illegal slide for that.

I'm not 100% sure, but, I think that, as part of these new rules, players have to slide if it's going to be a close enough play.

I understand the spirit of the rule and I'm all for protecting players from concussions, but, clearly, there's still a ways to go for them to find the right balance here. The takeout slide is part of the game. You can setup the rules to allow it and protect the fielder at the same time.

The rule is fine but they aren't applying it with any common sense. The "absolutely no contact with the fielder" part is what needs to change. They need to allow some contact otherwise fielders will exploit the rule like what happened with Pillar.